Warren rebuffed them at every turn.
Constituent John Bangert said she was wrong for providing funds to Israel to use “their guns against innocents. It’s true in Ferguson, Missouri, and it’s true in Israel.” Bangert was applauded when he told Warren her vote was wrong on the funding for Israel.
Warren disagreed. “I think the vote was right, and I’ll tell you why I think the vote was right,” she said. “America has a very special relationship with Israel. Israel lives in a very dangerous part of the world, and a part of the world where there aren’t many liberal democracies and democracies that are controlled by the rule of law. And we very much need an ally in that part of the world.”
The Massachusetts senior senator also said that Hamas has attacked Israel “indiscriminately,” while the Iron Dome system thwarted Hamas from having the terrorist effect it sought.
Another constituent pressed Warren over the allegedly high number of civilian casualties in Gaza during the Israeli operation.
Warren replied that she believes those casualties are the “last thing Israel wants,” and that they occured “when Hamas puts its rocket launchers next to hospitals, next to schools, they’re using their civilian population to protect their military assets. And I believe Israel has a right, at that point, to defend itself.”
Another of Warren’s constituents sought her support for cutting off funds to Israel if any more “settlements” are built. Warren rebuffed that idea as well, suggesting it went too far.
Some constituents at Warren’s Cape Cod “office meeting”applauded her statements supporting Israel. However, all of the comments following the article about it in the Cape Cod Times were harshly critical, some bordering on outright anti-Semitic and threatening.
So, Hillary has some competition on her pro-Israel bona fides, from a potential candidate who consistently outflanks her on the left.
Will she or won’t she go to Bibi’s speech? So far, ECI has not received an answer. Maybe others should also ask.
